Women Under Siege: Art Exhibit and Panel Discussion

December 20, 2016

Join us for a panel discussion with Lynn Paltrow, Executive Director of NAPW, in connection with the exhibition, Women Under Siege: Sexism in the Criminal Justice System, on Wednesday, January 11, 2017 at 7pm at Ceres Art Gallery. This exhibit, curated by artist Susan Grabel, addresses the sexism and misogyny ­contained in laws across the country being used against women and is inspired in part by NAPW's research and work.

Women are under siege from misguided legislatures and law enforcement agencies in many parts of the country. Under the guise of protecting the fetus, women are being persecuted, forced to undergo unwanted and unwarranted medical procedures, confined against their will to hospitals, imprisoned for having miscarriages as well as for using substances while pregnant even if, like methadone, they are prescribed by a doctor. Women are being punished for the outcome of their pregnancies and the potential life of a fetus is deemed more important than the life and well-being of the mother.

Women are also under siege by an antiquated criminal justice system that does not take into account the realities of domestic abuse and its impact over the course of time.

Child abuse laws are being manipulated so that abused women are being punished because they couldn't protect their children and often given more jail time than their abusers.

Susan Grabel chose the stories of 25 women whose circumstances illustrate these issues. She invited artists to create an artwork in response to them.